Discussions By Condition: I cannot get a diagnosis.

Heavy menstrual bleeding; continuous bleeding PLEASE HELP !

Always had a normal menstrual cycle; over last few years have gained some extra weight (40 pounds) never on the pill, no allergies..just a year and half ago - I stopped having menstrual cycles predominately with a menstrual cycle every quarter. Went to see the doctors and all tests are negative for thyroid/menopause - all tests show normal. Then this year starting in January I started having very heavy menstrual cycles with continous bleeding throughout. I went back to the doctors and all tests negative again for thyroid/ menopause. No pain experienced. But this month is particularly bad with flooding with changing pads 5 times a day and at night 2 times a day. I don't know what to do. Please help !

14 Replies:

Your issue sounds like you may be suffering from endometriosis. I had a severe case that took some time to diagnose and caused problems that didn't even seem possible. Bleeding that heavy is not uncommon, there is an ablation procedure that can be performed and it would be worth considering. The only way to diagnose endometriosis is through a scope to look for scar tissue so you would need to mention this to your doctor and see if he/she thinks you are a candidate.

I was suffering just as you with the heavy continuous bleeding. You need to go to an OBGYN asap. This was going on with me for a while and finally, one day I began to get really dizzy and decided to bite the bullet and go. Thank God I did because my doctor said if I would have come in two days later he would have been sending me to the emergency room for blood transfusions! He did a regualar exam but could not find anything due to the heavy bleeding so he took blood to test for several different things. Although the tests came back perfectly normal he did an ultrasound and found that I have quite a few small cysts on my ovaries. It's called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Although it sounds scary, it's treated with B.C. and only really causes problems with conception.

Hi..I already experienced that.. Heavy bleeding.. That was so uncomfortable and at the same time, I can feel pain due to my menstruation.. So, I suggest to you the acai berry. The acai berry is said to have a lot of wonderful benefits, and one of them is kissing menstrual pain away. This is because acai berry is rich in calcium content. Calcium coats the lining of the uterus and the stomach, so that there is less pain felt when the uterus releases prostaglandin and starts to contract. Other symptoms associated with menstrualcramps are also alleviated because of acai berry.--Hope you'll gonna feel better.. :)

I went thru the same symptoms 7 years ago (age 46 then). My GYN put me thru diagnostic tests, no results. I then went to 3 more GYN's searching for answers. My GP was the one who discovered I was severely anemic and sent me to the hospital for transfusion. The various GYN's disregarded my complaints of extremely excessive blood loss, never ordered a blood test.What the GYN's wanted to do was a hysterectomy. Duh. Not what I wanted. Happy ending: I found a doctor (finally-#4) who detected a fibroid MANUALLY, something no other doctor or test found. He surgically removed it, no more bleeding.Good luck finding the right doctor, that's what it usually takes. They are not all the same.Oh yes, one GYN did put me on the BC pill and that caused even greater blood loss. 2 out of my 4 GYN docs were female and they were worse than the male docs in their lack of empathy.

Oh yes, one GYN did put me on the BC pill and that caused even greater blood loss. 2 out of my 4 GYN docs were female and they were worse than the male docs in their lack of empathy.Omygosh - that last sentence really struck a chord with me! I know EXACTLY what you mean! I come from a family of really heavy bleeders/horrible cramp sufferers. My mom was thrilled beyond words when she finally got her hysterectomy a few yrs ago. When I got my first period, I was in so much pain & throwing up & shaking & bawling (& I was a tough kid, a tomboy, played football even, never really complained about pain unless it was BAD & handled it well, etc.) that my parents thought my appendix was going to burst & took me to hospital. I was 11 & ended up missing 3-5 days (the worst cramp days) per month of school from there on out for the next few years. At school, my teachers would gripe & complain when I had to go to the bathroom every 30-45min to change a pad... even after my mom explained the periods to them, and they'd humiliate me in front of class "Oh do you have a bladder the size of a walnut??" "Are you meeting your bf in the hallway?" etc. I would take 800-1000mg of ibuprofen every 2-4 hours... if I didn't start it 3-4 days in advance of my period I'd throw up for days from my cramps. It was AWFUL. And female doctors *WERE* the *worst*!! It's like, if they'd never had heavy periods or wickedly bad cramps, they assume NO ONE else does & that everyone is just exaggerating & that I was a "pretty girl that wanted attention." It got so bad (and even the bc pills I tried actually either did nothing or made it worse) that when I started lifting weights at 15 & working out; I did it 6-7 days/wk hardcore most weeks so I wouldn't get a period (or would get a lighter one w/ less cramps). This worked for 5 years (until a car accident left me out of commission to exercise much). Needless to say, I've seen soooo many OB/GYNs that I've lost faith in them... especially the horrible women that treated me like garbage. I'm 22 years old, I still have to bring my mom with me to basically any kind of doctor appointments so that if something is legitimately wrong with me, the docs will actually treat me like there is something wrong instead of thinking "well she looks fine, isn't whining, limping, whatev, she must be fine." I go to a pain doctor (related to out of commission-ness) & since I've not been allowed to work out for so long, my cramps are back full force. I brought my mom w/ me to explain to the doc it wasn't "headache pain" during my period, my cramps really are THAT bad... & she told him all that when I left the room. Magically, he now writes me scrips for pain meds for cramps & I don't have to suffer as much. The only docs that have written me stronger meds for cramps are men! I have the "pretty girl curse." It never looks like anything is wrong with me unless I'm passing out or throwing up... so docs assume I'm just being overly dramatic or exaggerating the 1-3 times I go to the doc a year... it sucks. As a 22 year old ADULT female, I shouldn't have to breach my privacy & drag my "mommy" along to receive good medical care. This is EVERYWHERE, too, not just one or two docs...she even has to call if I want to get into a doc and not wait 2-3 weeks... magically she calls 10 minutes later somehow there are opening & they get me in in 2-3 days max. I've even had a female doctor refuse me antibiotics (and I get them once or twice a year, tops, because I know that overuse creates superbugs, and I don't like to be on that crap unnecessarily anyway) for a sinus infection. It got so bad I missed a week of high school afterward because they wouldn't let me make another appointment until it had been a week (even though I had been sick ALREADY for a week at my 1st appointment). I even called and begged to come back sooner... they said no. Then I had to be on way strong (gut-wrenching) abx for 3 wks (instead of a 5-day Z-pack had she just believed how bad I felt). Anyway... in terms of heavy periods... speaking from experience, the 6 or 7 different "herbal" or "Eastern Medicine" type remedies people will likely suggest never worked AT ALL for me. My mom took me to an alternative doc when I was a youngin out of desperation. You should get an ultrasound of your uterus - endometriosis can cause heavy bleeding. I believe fibroids can too. If it ends up being "naturally" heavy & no one gives you any solutions... try exercising more. Not the marathon runners' type strenuous level, but exercise daily & it might help it lighten up a bit. If cramps are a problem, I've personally found (the only thing that really actually helps besides hardcore meds) that 1 tablespoon of flax oil mixed w/ 1/4cup flaxseed meal, stirred w/ water and drank before or after my pain meds (not directly with) helps them work better/me take less of them per period. If you feel really tired/lethargic, you might want to start iron supplements for at least the week of your period (lose a lot when you menstruate). Calcium and multivitamins are always good, too. Good luck. Female problems suck... :(

Anyway... in terms of heavy periods... speaking from experience, the 6 or 7 different "herbal" or "Eastern Medicine" type remedies people will likely suggest never worked AT ALL for me I am curious which remedies you are speaking of - do you have examples or names of the herbs? Were they pills or did you make a tea? DOM

Hi, I am a 23 yr old with one child... I have always had abnormal cramping from my periods... but other than that they were normal periods. Ever since I had my son I have experienced periods from ***l. I have needed transfusions 3 times in the last year. The bleeding has gotten so bad sometimes to wear I am wearing a pad and tampon and still bleed through within the hour or less. I have seen 4 doctors this past year and they have tested me for EVERYTHING it seems... I have no edometriosis, or cysts, or fibroids, or anything abnormally wrong with my uterus at all. I have had 2 D & Cs this year. They have tried 2 types birth control, estrogen pills and shots, I don't understand why this is so complicating. They have tested me for some von Willebrand Disease and that was negative as well. I am already anemic and take Iron pills, but everytime I have a period I bleed out... The only time my periods stop are when I go to the hospital and they inject me with coagulants. And this last time I went in the coagulants caused me to have blood clots in my lungs and stomach. That added to pneumonia and a collapsed lung. Why do I lose so much blood so quickly... why doesn't my body produce it back... Will I always have to get transfusions after periods to keep from bleeding out competely???

Always had a normal menstrual cycle; over last few years have gained some extra weight (40 pounds) never on the pill, no allergies..just a year and half ago - I stopped having menstrual cycles predominately with a menstrual cycle every quarter. Went to see the doctors and all tests are negative for thyroid/menopause - all tests show normal. Then this year starting in January I started having very heavy menstrual cycles with continous bleeding throughout. I went back to the doctors and all tests negative again for thyroid/ menopause. No pain experienced. But this month is particularly bad with flooding with changing pads 5 times a day and at night 2 times a day. I don't know what to do. Please help !Hi There i think you have Polycystic Ovaries because that is exactly what has happened to me I went through a couple of years of having very few periods about every quater now I get them continuous! Your doctor should have most deffinately checked for that as all the symptoms gaining weight point towards PCOs. Another thing you may get is more hair growth maybe some facial hair, some on your back and generally more in your pubic area. It's a very common thing to have generally 1 in 5 women have it at some point in there lives. It's not serious and it can usually be controlled by a drug called Metformin. If your doctor confirms the case as being PCOs and tries to give you a contraceptive pill to control it, don't take it! Ask him if you can try Metformin first as it will help your body regulate itself without any hormonal replacements and also if you were ever thinking of kids, it is not ideal to be on the pill! Also the pill is a steroid and you can gain a little weight where as Metformin helps you lose it because it makes your body use its sugars a lot more efficiently. Which is the underlining cause of PCOs. PCOs are little cysts that grow on your ovaries and basically they are imature eggs so they don't ovulate. When you have PCOs you don't ovulate as much as other prople which means you will get few or no periods which can make it more difficult to get pregnant. It is also a hormonal inbalance which causes this to happen so you can have periods all over the place! Research has said that it is a difficiency of the pancreas which causes this to happen. Weight loss and exercise is an affective way to control this and also the drug Metformin. Many stars including Emma Thompson and Posh spice have had PCOs. Go on the Verity website and read up about it for more info and support from other members who have it. I am a member and I find it really helps. I hope this helps you. Best of Luck and I hope you get a conclusion soon:) Amanda xx

Hi..I already experienced that.. Heavy bleeding.. That was so uncomfortable and at the same time, I can feel pain due to my menstruation.. So, I suggest to you the acai berry. The acai berry is said to have a lot of wonderful benefits, and one of them is kissing menstrual pain away. This is because acai berry is rich in calcium content. Calcium coats the lining of the uterus and the stomach, so that there is less pain felt when the uterus releases prostaglandin and starts to contract. Other symptoms associated with menstrualcramps are also alleviated because of acai berry.--Hope you'll gonna feel better.. :)This response is crap. Acai will not help, your doctor will. Make sure you don't have endo or cysts/fibroids. No matter how great an herbal remedy is, you have to know what you are treating first. I should know, I am an herbalist. Get checked out by a doctor if you can. Leaving fibroids/ovarian cysts untreated could be extremely dangerous.

Although the tests came back perfectly normal he did an ultrasound and found that I have quite a few small cysts on my ovaries. It's called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Although it sounds scary, it's treated with B.C. and only really causes problems with conception. Just to be clear PCOS is not cycsts in the ovaries and not on them. That is why it causes problems w/ fertility. But, you can have cycsts on or in the ovaries and not have PCOS. I have alway been regular, however I have had terrible cramps and heavy bleeding. To the original poster my recommendation is to find a GYN that listens. I recommend that you keep checking out new ones until someone helps with you questions and concerns. Make sure that they do an ultrasound. I had pains after a miscarrage on my left side and my GYN (a clinic of 4 really good female dr.s) said to monitor for one month. If it didn't subside she would do an write a script for an ultra sound of my pelvic area. If that didn't lead to anything and I still had pain they said they would probably have to do an MRI. But, they were very responsive. Fortunately, the pain subsided. Good luck and be persistant.

i know just what you are going through.It was the same for me at school too.I stopped having periods in 2007 when I was 53 so I have had 40 years of it!I ended up having two lots of iron injections.I live in england and have some younger friends.One has an implant that stops her ovulating and stops her periods and the othe takes a pill every day...a birth control pill nd has no break for a period.so thats two ways of getting rid of periods.